Moonlight Bridges
by ShadyLanne
Summary: Lily and Travis like each other, but are they ready to tell everyone else? Especially Ray...
1. School Days & Radio Waves

Lily Randall walked down the hall at Henry Roscoe High on Thursday morning. She hated Thursday mornings, just like the rest of the population at HRH. She opened her small locker and grabbed her English book. She went to close her locker when she quickly remembered that she wanted to bring her Walkman with her to class. She grabbed it from her locker and went to close her locker when she felt someone come up behind her and cover her eyes.  
"How can I help you?" Lily said with an exaggerated sigh in her voice.

"Well… I just came to say good morning and to walk you to class" said a calm voice. Lily smiled to herself and turned around to look at Travis.

"Well good morning!" Lily said cheerily as she hugged Travis gently and smiled at him.

"Good morning" Travis said calmly as he hugged Lily back. His short brown hair looked different that morning, because he hadn't brushed it.

"Travis, well…are you branching out? You didn't brush your hair that morning" Lily laughed and kissed his cheek quickly before she thought anyone would see.

"No, I didn't…" Travis trailed off as he looked around and took Lily's hand. He ran his fingers over hers and smiled.

"Are we doing anything tonight after RFR?" Lily questioned looking at Travis with wide eyes, hoping he'd say yes, even though she knew she'd see him all day anyways.

"Sure, why not. We should plan what we're going to do for Victoria Day this weekend, with Ray and Robbie… and alone too" Travis said smiling a smile that only Lily had ever seen.

"Sure, sounds like fun, where?" Lily questioned as she noticed Robbie coming up to them in the distance, she quickly dropped Travis's hand and smiled at him apologetically.

"How about we just wait for everyone to leave the studio, it would be perfect" Travis nodded as Robbie approached them.

"Hey guys!" Robbie said as he did a secret handshake with Travis and a different one with Lily.

"Hey" Lily and Travis said at the same time.

"What are you guys doing tonight after RFR? Ray and I were thinking we could all go to Mickey's and talk about what were going to do for Victoria Day" Robbie said thoughtfully as he leaned against a locker beside Lily's.

Lily patted at her newly purchased skirt and looked to Travis for help on answering,

"Actually, Lily and I have some English homework to go over, so we wont have to do it on the weekend. Tomorrow we should definitely get together to think about it though!" Travis said moving from his spot beside Lily to standing between Lily and Robbie.

"Sounds cool… I'll see you guys at lunch" Robbie said as he left the two of them in the hallway.

Travis looked at Lily with his calm glance and sighed "That was way too close."  
"As if having a secret persona wasn't enough, having a secret relationship added on to that, isn't that easy either" Lily sighed as her and Travis entered there English class.

"This is Pronto and thank you for listening to RFR" Ray said as he took off his headphones and slid his microphone back. Travis walked out of the booth and looked at them.

"Good show, very energetic" he said in his normal soft tone.

"No problem captain!" Ray said giving Travis a salute and looked from Robbie to Lily.

"Ray and I are going to Mickey's, we'll see you guys later" Robbie said as him and Ray left.

"And, we're alone" Travis said taking Lily's hand in his and sitting down on the RFR's leather couch.

"That we are" Lily said smiling and kissed Travis softly and looked at him "I wonder how long we can keep this quiet for?"  
Travis sighed and dropped Lily's hand. He stood up and walked over to where they kept all the cd's "That's what I wanted to talk about. They're going to find out eventually… and the longer we wait, the more upset they'll be that we didn't tell them"

"I know, I just don't want to hurt Ray" Lily said softly looking away from Travis and almost clearing her throat.

Travis walked back over to Lily and rubbed his hand on her back "I know, and that's why we have to tell them soon, if we don't want anyone to get mad"


	2. Mickey's delight

Lily stood waiting at Mickey's for Travis, Ray and Robbie on Saturday afternoon. Everyone was supposed to meet there at 2pm to discuss what they were doing on Monday night for Victoria day, but no one was at Mickey's yet.

"What are you waiting for?" Mickey asked Lily as she sipped on her third chocolate milkshake.

"The guys. They said they'd be here at 2...but it's almost 2:30 and no one's showed up yet" Lily said sighing and turning around in the swirling chair just as she say Ray and Robbie walking in. "It's about time someone showed up!" Lily said as she jumped off her seat.

"We were waiting for Travis at Robbie's house and he never showed, so we left" Ray said jumping up on a stool to sit down.

"Travis was late?" Lily questioned as she looked at Robbie then at Ray.

"Yes, we phoned his house… his mom said that he was gone out to get something and would just meet us here" Robbie said shrugging.

Lily furrowed an eyebrow and checked her watch again. Travis was never late for anything especially if he said he would be there.

"As long as he shows up." Lily said as she finished sipping on her chocolate milkshake and pushed it away from in front of her.

Ray nodded and then looked from Lily to Robbie "So what were you thinking of doing?"

"Well" Robbie started to say and then let out a little laugh "I was thinking of maybe going and watching some fireworks"

"Sounds good" Ray said nodding a bit and biting his lip.

"Actually, I was thinking that maybe we could go near the lake to watch them. The stars get really pretty at night around there" Lily said smiling as she turned around in time to see Travis walk through the door of Mickey's. He smiled and slid a bag he had into his school bag and walked over to everyone.  
"Travis man, it's about time" Robbie laughed as Travis sat down behind Lily.

"Well, I had some things to do" Travis said mater-of-factly, "What are you guys talking about?"  
"Where were going to see the fireworks" Robbie said and Ray quickly interrupted.

"I think we should go to the lake like Lily said… she's right, the stars look nice at night"

"The lake? That would be… good" Travis said directing most of his attention towards Lily but looked at the other guys quickly and smiled.

"Great! So Monday at the lake then?" Lily asked looking at Robbie and Ray.

"Definitely, around 7 or so?" Ray asked looking back at Lily.

Lily turned to Travis who nodded who in turn looked at Robbie who nodded.

"Awesome" Ray said getting up to leave "I told my mom I would help her get some of our stuff in order in our kitchen, I'll talk to you guys later!"   
"Bye" Lily, Travis and Robbie said as Lily waved to Ray.

"So, what are you two up to?" Robbie asked looking from Lily to Travis and settling on looking at Travis. There was a silent moment, as no one knew what to say.

"I was thinking of maybe going to the station, and going through some stuff." Travis said shrugging as his hand not so knowingly played with a coaster on the table.

"Cool" Robbie said smiling then getting up "I'm gonna go home and work on some homework so I have the rest of my weekend free"

"Alright! We'll see you Monday!" Lily said smiling as she waved to Robbie.

"Bye" Robbie said as he walked through the door of Mickey's.

Travis slowly moved his arm over Lily's shoulders. No one talked for a minute, but suddenly Lily piped up

"So, do you want to do something?" Lily asked turning to face Travis.

"Sure. I actually got you something. That's what took me so long. I didn't want the guys to know where I was so I told my mom to tell them I went out to get her something. Anyways, I hope you like it" Travis started to go through his school bag when he found the small box. He handed it to Lily and smiled "Here, open it."

Lily looked at the box for a second trying to think of what it was. She sighed inwardly as she opened the box "TRAVIS!!!! You didn't have to. No wait you didn't need to!! BUT thank you soooo much!!!!" Lily said as she threw her arms around Travis. In front of her lay a guitar pick that resembled her very first guitar pick that she ever had. Travis had it made so that a sterling silver chain was going through it, so Lily could wear it.

"I wanted to. I saw it the other day, and since you had shown me the guitar pick that you have that was your first guitar pick, I thought I'd pick it up for you. The guy said that they're very rare and that I'm lucky I found it" Travis said as he hugged Lily back and kissed her cheek softly. He let his hand run through her hair for a second. Lily smiled down at the small box that the necklace had been placed in.

"Can I help you put it on?" Travis offered looking at Lily with his zen filled looking appearing back on his face.

"Of course you can" Lily said smiling as she moved her hair off her neck and watched Travis place the necklace over her neck and do it up. She could feel his breath on her neck and she promptly smiled and turned around to face Travis. She let her hair go back down her neck.

"Lily…" Travis said looking at Lily softly with a slight happiness playing in his eyes.

"Yes?" Lily whispered moving her face closer to his.

"Monday night, after the fireworks, I have a surprise for you" Travis said as he let his lips softly rest of Lily's.

"Travis, you don't have to" Lily whispered as she kissed Travis and smiled. Travis took her hand and kept looking her eyes.

"Once again though, I want to. It will be fun and you'll love it, I promise" Travis smiled and ran a hand over Lily's hair and stood up. He pulled Lily up by her hand and said "So, where are we going?"


	3. Fireworks Among Beauty

Lily looked out her living room on Monday night as she decided she was ready to go. She slipped on her shoes and quickly checked her hair in the mirror. She laughed for a moment and went to go out the door when she remembered she had to say bye to her parents.

"Bye mom and dad! I'm going to meet Travis, Ray and Robbie by the lake to watch the fireworks okay?" Lily said as she looked into her living room to see her parents watching tv.  
"Alright Lily. Just make sure you're home on time" Lily's mom replied as Lily said bye again and left the house. She walked down her street for a while thinking about everything that had happened lately. Her and Travis had been together, but not officially together since he never really asked her out. She was still scared about Robbie, or especially Ray finding out, but she didn't know how ready she was to receive criticism from either of them. All she knew is she really liked Travis and felt so safe and comfortable with him. Her thought carried her long enough until she got to the lake. No one was there yet. She sighed and climbed up in her favorite tree waiting for everything. One thing she had learned from Travis lately was to become one with nature. She positioned herself against the tree and closed her eyes. She was leaning against the tree just thinking when she felt something hit her.  
"Lily…LILY!!!!" a voice said calling her from her thoughts.   
Lily jumped a bit in the tree and lost her balance and fell. She closed her eyes hoping whoever was at the bottom would catch her before she hit the ground, even though it was only a few feet.  
"Lily, it's okay, you can open your eyes. I have you" Travis said smiling and kissing Lily's forehead as she opened her eyes.  
"Thank you" Lily smiled and kissed Travis's cheek and looked at him nervously for a second. She looked around to see if she could see anyone coming near them. The sun was setting and she smiled at Travis looking into his eyes as he watched the sun set.

"You know, Lily," Travis said putting Lily down and taking her hand "It's so beautiful out here at night. I'm glad you picked to come here and watch the fireworks" Travis was just about to lean in to kiss Lily when he heard Ray and Robbie talking a few feet from them. Travis let out an exaggerated sigh and dropped Lily's hand.

"Look who's already here" Ray said laughing looking from Lily to Travis when him and Robbie reached them.  
"What's wrong with being here already? The sky looks wonderful at night when the sun is setting" Travis said as he put himself back in order, as zen and wisdom filled his voice.

"Strong, stop acting like such a book" Ray said as he hit Travis's shoulder and laughed

Travis just shrugged as Robbie laughed.  
"Ray, man, you just gotta know when to stop sometimes" Robbie said shaking his head as the first firework went off.

"Well, it looks like that's the end of the fireworks" Robbie said getting up off the ground and brushing off his pants.  
"I don't know about you guys, I didn't find those as good as last year" Lily said shrugging and yawning a bit from the boringness of the fireworks.

"These ones were kind of disappointing" Ray said agreeing then looked at his watch "I told my mom I'd be home at 10..and it's 9 now and I want to stop by Mickey's for something, so I better get going."

"Alright! See you at school tomorrow" Lily said giving Ray a quick hug.  
"I better get going too. I still have a quick few math problems to do" Robbie said waving to Travis and Lily as he caught up with Ray.  
Lily looked out at the water surrounding the front of her for a moment and felt Travis put his arms around her waist.  
"Close your eyes" Travis instructed  
"Why?" Lily asked softly as she turned around to look at Travis. Travis's eyes were dark and full of mystery and she smiled trying to figure it out.

"Because, I want to take you to your surprise" Travis smiled as he pulled a bandana from his back pocket and held it up for Lily to see.  
"Okay, but do I still have to close my eyes if you're putting that on me?" She asked half laughing.  
"Yes, just incase you see" Travis said and snuck around the back of Lily and put the bandana on her. He took her hand and led her over a path. They walked for 10 minutes until Travis finally stopped.  
"Are we here?" Lily asked nervously noting they had stopped and that Travis was standing beside her.   
"Yes" Travis said. He reached behind Lily's head being careful not to pull on her hair and unfolded the blindfold, "Open your eyes" Travis said softly into Lily's ear.

Lily opened her eyes slowly and looked around. Travis had picked in the middle of the bridge to have a picnic. He had set everything up, including a blanket to sit on. Lily looked out at the view of it crossing over a small river. She turned around and hugged Travis tightly.

"Travis!!!! This is amazing!! The view is so beautiful. It's so perfect." She said kissing his lips softly and looking into his eyes almost ready to cry with happiness.

"Only the best for you" Travis smiled as he kissed Lily softly. He let his lips linger on hers for a minute and he kissed her again softly. He let his arms loosen around her and let her put her head against his chest, "You're amazing" Travis whispered softly as they stood looking out at the view standing in each others arms.


	4. Disappointment and Desires

"If you like her kid, ask her out" Mickey said as he slapped Ray on the back.

Ray nodded his head solemnly and smiled a bit "You know what Mickey, maybe I will."

Ray replied as he got off his chair and walked out of the door of Mickey's. He was thinking to himself as he turned the long way to walk home. He decided he would ask Lily out tomorrow at school. He'd find her in the morning, before anyone else would, and ask her then. Although, he decided it would be hard to find her without Travis. She was usually around him as of late.

'It's probably because they've gotten closer since she recorded her single' Ray thought to himself smiling. He stopped in front of a tree and tried to decide which way he would walk. If he went to the left, he'd walk across the bridge, if he went to the left, he'd have to walk through the forest. He quickly decided he'd go to his left and walk along the bridge. He was walking until he noticed two silhouettes sitting on the walkway of the bridge. He wanted to go and laugh at them, like he usually did with his friends, until he got closer. His eyes widened when he saw what looked like Travis and Lily, sitting on a blanket, having a picnic. Ray immediately turned around but he tripped over his own feet. He growled when he got up and turned around to see Travis and Lily kissing each other with Travis running his hands through Lily's hair.

Ray turned back around and started to head in the direction of Mickey's. He wasn't going to stop there; he was going to walk that way home instead. He didn't want to know why, or how Lily and Travis were together, but he felt it was unfair because Travis knew how Ray felt about Lily. Ray frowned to himself as he felt what felt like a huge hole develop in his stomach.

Lily giggled as Travis tried to tickle her but she moved away quickly. Travis quickly leaned up against her and kissed her softly. Lily laughed again as she could feel Travis's hand move softly through her hair. She blushed, only being sure that she could feel it, and Travis couldn't see it.

Lily sat up straight suddenly, and turned her head quickly in the opposite direction of Travis.

"Did you hear that?" she asked looking back at Travis with a worried look on her face.

Travis looked around for a second and saw a person walking away in the opposite direction of them.

"It's just someone walking by, don't worry okay?" Travis said wrapping his arm back around Lily. He looked out at the figure of the person walking, and thought he knew who it might be. Although, he couldn't put a finger on it.


	5. Searching for Lies

On Tuesday morning Lily walked slowly through the halls. She hadn't stopped at her locker very long because she already had her books with her from the weekend for English. It had been raining out when she arrived at school, and she noticed her feet were a bit wet from walking in the rain. She sat down on the stairwell that her and the guys always sat on when Ray came walking up to her.

"Hey Lily!" Ray said cheerfully sitting right down beside Lily, making sure that no one could sit on the other side of her. He threw his arm over her shoulder in a friendly way.  
"Oh hey Ray!" Lily said trying to throw enthusiasm into her voice as she looked around the hall for Travis.   
"How are you this morning" Ray said standing up beside her and standing in front of her.  
"I'm good actually Ray" Lily said standing up and moving away from sitting by Ray. She stood up beside him so she could see Travis walking down the hall. He was soaked from walking in the rain, even though he had a jacket and umbrella with him. She smiled when she saw him looking at her and walked over to him. She hugged him and smiled. Ray followed her and just for good measure she hugged him too.  
"Travis! You're all wet" Lily said making an odd face.  
"Yes, well… it is raining out" Travis said laughing a bit and turning his direction to Ray.  
"Lily, that's what does happen in the rain" Ray said laughing a bit and shaking his head.

"I'm aware of that" Lily looked at him for a second and blinked. She looked at Ray and smiled "Did you have fun at the fireworks last night?"  
Ray almost snorted. Over the last night, he had decided he would try to trap Travis and Lily in there own secrets, but he didn't want to hurt either of them at the same time "I had a really great time. What did you guys do after the fireworks? After Robbie and I left" Ray asked looking at them curiously

"I walked Lily home, and then I went home" Travis said nodding and noticing Robbie was slowly approaching them.  
"Sounds like fun" Ray said coolly and looking away towards Robbie "Hey man!"   
"Hey guys, what's up?" Robbie asked stopping besides the group.

"Nothing" Travis said shrugging. Lily nodded in unison and turned to Ray.

"Just trying to figure out a mystery" Ray said seriously and then started laughing "What the meat is for lunch today"

Lily let out a bit of a sigh and laughed "Who knows, we never know"

Travis looked at his watching and nodded "We've gotta get to class"

Lily nodded and smiled at Travis as he began to walk away, "We'll see you guys later!!" Lily waved briefly to catch up with Travis.

There was a pause between Robbie and Ray for a second as Ray leaned up against a locker.

"You notice the necklace she was wearing?" Robbie asked looking at Ray with a curious look on his face.

"Yes!" Ray exclaimed looking at Robbie "It looks exactly like her very first guitar pick"   
"Did you give it to her?" Robbie asked looking at Ray with a curious eye.

"No, but I bet I can tell you where it came from" Ray said scowling under his breath.

"Finally, we're alone, sort of" Travis said laughing a bit and taking Lily's hand.  
"We are. Look, you're all wet, maybe you should change into clean gym clothes or something?" Lily asked looking at Travis.

"I could, but I'm fine this way" Travis said as they walked to his locker. He threw his jacket in his locker and took his plaid shirt off, leaving his white t-shirt that was dry on, and putting an extra black button up shirt with white stripes he had in his locker on.

Just as Travis was about to lock up his locker the warning bell started to ring.

"Time for class" Lily said looking at Travis with a weird look on her face.

"It is." Travis said smiling at her. He looked in the classroom they had for English and noticed no one was in there, "Come on" he whispered.

Lily followed Travis into there room as he closed the door behind them. He made her sit down on one of the desks and he kissed her lips softly. Lily smiled and kissed him back. Lily got up off the desk she was sitting on, and she sat in her seat. Travis sat beside her and they smiled at each other until someone walked into the room, then they shook from their own world and turned to face the front of the class.

Ray shook his head as he walked away from the room 'So, it's true… they are together… what now?' he thought to himself. He debated telling Robbie as he walked away from the classroom and silent drifted down the hall, into his own.


	6. Convincing Friendship

It was just after school and Travis was at his locker, gathering all of his homework for that night. He was busy thinking about an Geography assignment when he felt someone standing next to him. Travis narrowed his eyes and looked over his left shoulder to see Ray standing beside him.  Travis shook his head a bit and sighed,  
"What are you doing here?" Travis asked, almost as if he were made that Ray was at his locker.  
"Just wanted to see if you wanted to walk with me to the station" Ray said effortlessly, looking at Travis and nodding his head.

"Why?" Travis asked as he threw a book he was reading into his bag, and took his lock off his locker.

"Because, just wanted to" Ray said shrugging and leaning against the locker that was beside Travis's.  
Travis locked his locker, and turned to face Ray "Fine, sounds good"

"Good, should we start?" Ray asked as he started to walk away from Travis's locker.

"What about Lily?" Travis asked trying to catch up to Ray, but raising his eyebrow.

"Oh, she might have left with Robbie already" Ray said walking around a corner and almost walking right into Lily.  
"Or she's right there" Travis said shaking his head and looking at Ray hopelessly.  
"What's going on?" Lily asked confused as she caught Ray's attempt at trying to stay on his feet.

Ray frowned for a slight second and then smiled, " I was just leaving with Travis for the station. I thought you already left with Robbie"  
"Oh, no." Lily said as she eyed Ray suspiciously, "Robbie's still talking to Kim. I was just looking for Travis and… you"  
Travis laughed a bit and looked from Ray to Lily "Well, we better get going and see what Robbie's going to do"

"Yea, that might be a good idea" Ray said turning around to walk in the opposite direction.

"What is he doing?" Lily whispered to Travis quietly as Ray walked quite a way in front of them looking for Robbie.  
"I don't know. He just walked up to me, when I was waiting for you and started talking to me" Travis said shrugging as he shook his head.  
"I wonder what's going on with him" Lily said softly looking from the back of Ray to looking at Travis.  
"I'm not sure" Travis said quickly just as Ray turned around to face them.  
"Come on slow pokes." Ray said enthusiastically as he held open his arms. Travis and Lily looked at each other and walked over to Ray. Ray put one arm around Lily's neck and the other around Travis's "We need to find Robbie"   
"I know, I thought that's what we were doing" Travis said with a questioning sound in his voice.   
"Ahhh, yes we are. But why not do it altogether now?" Ray said tightening his grip playfully around there necks.

Travis narrowed his eyes to his usual look and noticed Robbie standing over by his locker, talking to Kim.

"Should we go and get him?" Lily said noticing Travis's look.

Ray took his arms from around Lily and Travis and folded them in front of himself "I don't know, they look pretty happy" Ray said shrugging.

"But we have the show" Travis said sitting down on the stairs.

"This is very true" Ray said sitting beside Travis and smiling.

Lily sat in front of Travis and Ray and rested her head against the banister of the stairs.

****

****  
  
"I'm QuestionMark, and I'm wondering, why do people have so many expectations of the people you like or love." Robbie said into the mic. They were at the station doing the show, finally after Robbie showed up 10 minutes late.

"Because, people always have certain expectations of everyone." Ray said trying to be serious "Like I expect to see Smog always walking around by himself"  
Travis rolled his eyes "I think people have expectations of the people you like, or people you love because at any minute someone could come and take the person you think you love, right from under your nose"   
"That's a good reason Smog" Robbie said looking at Travis and nodding his head.  
"I think another reason is that people assume friends can't date. The minute they do, people always think that it's hurting there other friends." Lily said looking at the mic as she talked.

"What about you Pronto, what do think about it?!" Travis asked as he looked at Ray.

"I think that people have so many expectations because they themselves are scared of hurting the people they love." Ray said as Travis gave them the queue that the show was almost over.

They signed off as they usually did and Travis walked out of the booth.

"Good show guys." Travis said walking over to where they kept the C.D's.

"Yea. It was great" Ray said almost over exuberantly as he sat on the couch and opened his backpack. He pulled out his math book and started to go through a chapter.

"You're doing your homework here?" Robbie asked looking at Ray shocked, more shocked that he was actually doing his homework, as opposed to where he was doing it.

"Yea, I figured it might be easier to do it here" Ray said as he brought out his pencil and started to figure out math problems.

Travis raised his eyebrow at Robbie and Lily and then turned to Ray, "Well… I'm gonna get going"  
"Me too" Lily said almost laughing.  
"I'm going to too" Robbie said picking up his backpack.

"No one's going to stay here?" Ray questioned looking up from his homework.

"No, it's almost supper time" Lily said as she walked to the door. Travis followed her and Robbie soon followed them.

Ray watched as they left and shook his head "WHY are my plans ALWAYS back firing?"


	7. the Hardest Hit

It was a few days later and the gang was just about ready to leave the station.

"That was a great show today guys" Travis said as he slid a cd away "That was a great take on the glue situation at school"  
Robbie smirked at the remark and looked at the clock that was hanging on the wall. The clock had never looked so pale and white to him before, with the black written sign above it. He could tell something was going on with Ray and he couldn't tell what it was, but had a feeling it might have something to do with Lily. He signed when he noticed the time "I have to go and meet Kim guys. I'll see you tomorrow. Remember the mall, at three"

"Gotcha" Lily said as she stood up and grabbed her bag. She leafed through it until she found a paper and handed it quickly to Robbie, "Remember, to give it back to me this time"  
Robbie looked down at the paper Lily gave him and laughed "I won't forget to give you your math review back. Bye guys" he said as he walked through the door.

"I should get going too, and get home for dinner" Ray said as he started to walk out the door "See you guys tomorrow at the mall"  
"Bye Ray!" Lily said happily as she swung the strap of her bag over her shoulder.

"Later guys" Ray said as he left through the door. He got to the top of the small set of stairs and went to stand behind a little small ridge, not wanting to spy on Lily or Travis, just to see if what he kept seeing was real. He sat there quietly waiting for any sign of movement that he could find, coming from the station stairs.

 brbrcenter/centerbrbr

"We should probably get going" Travis said placing the last cd back in the cd holder.  
"Yea, I was thinking that too. It's almost supper… and I want to get my homework done tonight mostly, so I don't have any tomorrow" Lily said sighing and leaning against the wall.

"Exactly" Travis said as he shifted from where he was standing and gave Lily a small kiss on the lips, "Let's get going"

Lily opened the door and walked out onto the stairs, followed by Travis. They stopped at the top of the steps just before a little ridge in the wall.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Travis asked putting his arm around Lily's waist.

"Sure, if you want to" Lily smiled and kissed his cheek, as she walked closer to Travis then she was before. They walked in silence for a minute when they heard someone walking behind them. Travis quickly took his arm from around Lily's waist and turned around. Lily turned around at the exact same moment and saw Ray standing there, looking slightly more angry then she had ever seen him before.

"Hi guys" Ray squeeked out as he walked up to them.

"Hey Ray" Travis said looking at him with a steady eye.

"Don't hey me" Ray said finally getting to where they were and stood in front of Travis.

"Ummm… okay" Lily said shrugging and looking from Travis to Ray. She could see something in Ray's eyes. It almost looked like hostility. She knew Travis could see it too because she noticed how Travis's face had gone from laughing and cheerful looking, to very distraught and stone like within seconds.

"I know what you two are doing!" Ray boasted looking like a man who had known everything about the world.

"Walking home together like friends do?" Travis asked in question, even though it wasn't fully a lie, it wasn't fully the truth either.

"No" Ray retorted as quick as he could then took it back, "Well you are but that's not what I meant"

"What did you mean then Ray?" Lily asked looking at him with a blank look on her face.

Ray stood there for a second. He didn't want to hurt either of his friends, one of which he'd known his whole life… but they had hurt him, or so he thought. Travis knew Ray liked Lily… and that he liked her a lot. He took a big breath, hoping he wouldn't regret what he was about to say for the rest of his life.

"You guys are dating behind everyone's backs! Including me and Robbie's" Ray said folding his arms across his chest as the look on his face turned back to that angry looking state.

Lily looked at Travis and then looked back at Ray. She knew something was about to happen, but she didn't know how to stop it.

"Ray, we can date. It's not like Lily was your property! You wouldn't even tell her you liked her!" Travis exclaimed. All of a sudden he felt very small, even though he knew it was the truth.

"But what if I was going to, today, or tomorrow" Ray said back. He had raised his voice a bit and it was surly going to turn into a shouting match.

"Or in a month… or a year… or an eternity." Travis said shaking his head and looking Ray in the eyes, but talking calmly "I liked her too Ray, but I took the opening, because she seemed to like me too"

Lily looked nervously between the two guys. Her boyfriend and her best friend.

Ray was starting to get red in the face. He took a big breath and did something he never thought he would do to Travis again. He clenched his fist tightly and thrust it, hard, at Travis's face. Just hoping it would land anywhere.


	8. Tired of Waiting

"What are you doing?" Lily shrieked as she saw Ray's fist rapidly hit Travis's jaw.   
Ray stepped back to look at what he had done "Travis, man, I'm sorry" Ray said softly looking at Travis.  
Travis's jaw felt numb, almost as if he couldn't feel it anymore. He looked down at the ground and suddenly he looked up at Ray. His jaw was throbbing and he couldn't talk, but he could make some noises. He shook his head and went to fire his own fist back at Ray, nailing him only in the shoulder.

"C'mon Swami! You can do better then that!" Ray said chuckling to himself, secretly hoping that Travis wouldn't try to hit him again.

Travis looked at Ray, who at this time felt like he was towering over him. He took all of his energy and looked at him "You shouldn't have said that." Travis said as his own voice echoed in his head. Travis looked at Ray. He seemed to be sweating, and looked like he was possessed, standing still, making direct eye contact with Travis. Travis laughed inside his head and lunged his fist towards Ray's face, knocking him slightly off balance by hitting him in the cheek.

"Guys, guys, stop" Lily said looking at the two of them. Travis's jaw hanging lopsided, and Ray standing against a wall to keep his balance.

Ray looked at her sideways through the corner of his eye. He could see her standing there, in all the natural beauty he thought she had. He wondered what he was really fighting for. If it was for Lily's love, or just to fight with Travis, for as long as he had wanted to. He finally caught his breath and took another good swipe at Travis, this time hitting him directly in the eye, and with enough force to knock him down to the ground in a sitting position.

Lily looked at Travis and Ray. Ray's shoulder was starting to swell where Travis had hit him before, and his cheek was starting to bruise. Travis's jaw was swollen and looked like it was hanging on one hinge, and around his eye had turned a purplish blue colour and was probably on his way to being a greenish yellow colour. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket right away and began to dial Robbie's number.

"Robbie, the phone is for you" Robbie's dad said as he sat back down at the dinner table.

Robbie got up, cursing in his head at whoever was calling him during dinner because he liked what he was eating.

"Hello?" Robbie asked shockingly into the phone. He didn't know who was calling but all he could hear was muffled noises and noises that sounding like banging off of something hard, or something hard ricocheting off of something soft.

"Robbie… it's Lily! I'm so sorry to bug you, I know you're eating dinner, but Ray and Travis… they're fighting, like fist fighting. Ray already got Travis good, and he looks like he's almost dead, that's how good Ray got him." Lily said as quickly as she could trying to get all of the details out so Robbie would understand what was going on.  
"What? Why are they fighting?!" Robbie asked suddenly, even though he felt he already knew the answer without even having to ask.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you when you get here. But Robbie, seriously, I can't break them up, only you can. You're way stronger then me and they'll listen to you" Lily pleaded over the phone.

Robbie looked at his parents with a worried look on his face and sighed "I'll be right there" he replied as he hung up the phone.

"Where are you going Robert?" his mother said looking at him with her fork close to her mouth.

"Lily just called and Travis and Ray seem to be in a fight, I'm not sure how bad, but I have to go and break it up because they wont listen to her" Robbie said as he put his shoes on and said bye to his parents and left his house.

Robbie walked as quickly as he could to the station. Lily had forgotten to tell him where they were, but he was guessing that was where they were. He couldn't see them right away when they got there, but soon he spotted them. Ray didn't look half as beat up as Travis did. Ray's cheek looked a little swollen and his shoulder looked to seem as if it was swelling. The back of his head, to Robbie also looked a bit bigger. Travis on the other hand looked as Lily had explained it, like he was almost dead. His jaw was hanging and bruising, his eye was a dark purple colour and even though Travis already had big muscles in his arms, they looked to be swelling. Robbie walked quicker up to them and looked at them.

"Guys stop okay. This isn't a game anymore" Robbie said going to step between them just as Ray swung and hit Travis in the nose, almost instantly making it bleed.

"THAT'S IT!!!!!" Robbie yelled throwing a small rock against the steel shed and listening to the sound echo off of it.

Ray and Travis looked up from where they were. Travis slowly planted his back against a wall trying not to hurt himself even more then he already felt hurt.

Ray sat over by the stairs to the station and looked at Robbie.

"What the hell has gotten into you two? And I want to know now! Lily called me almost crying… and here you two are, acting like big imbeciles. Now what's going on?" Robbie asked again standing almost directly between the two of them.

Even though Ray and Travis were a distance from each other, they could  still see the expressions on each other faces.

"Why don't you tell him, Swami?!" Ray questioned looking at Travis.

Travis shook his head and pointed to his jaw and shrugging.

"Ray, I think if he could talk he would, but obviously since he can't… someone else has to tell me" Robbie said pointing out more then the obvious.

"Why don't you tell him Lily. It's your story, not mine" Ray said with hostility in his voice.

Lily looked up from the focus point she had found on the ground. She couldn't stand seeing all of her best friends like this.

"It's my fault okay?" Lily said looking at Robbie.

Robbie rolled his eyes "I just want an explanation"

Lily took a big breath and sighed when she found out what she was going to say.

"Ray I guess somehow found out about me and Travis, which you didn't know either. Anyways, I guess he got jealous or something, because next thing I know… he starts hanging around Travis and me all the time, with no explanation, never leaving the two of us alone. So then today… he just started saying things to Travis after he supposedly left, and then all of this happened" Lily said as a small tear ran down her cheek. She had done such a good job of not showing any emotion up until that point, and all of a sudden the tears just started rolling out of her eyes, like a summer storm cloud on a hazy evening.

Travis looked at Lily with a sympathetic look in his eyes, even though he couldn't help her physically, he wished he could.

"Ray, were you seriously stalking them? Trying to break them up?" Robbie questioned looking at Ray with a concerned look on his face. He had hoped, for the sanity of his friends that that was not Ray's idea.


	9. the Harder They Fall

Lily assessed the situation one more time in her head. She didn't know how they were going to get Travis to the hospital; she just knew that she had to.

"Guys, lets just get Travis to the hospital okay? Explanations can come later" Lily said almost panicky as she walked over to Travis. She tried to get her own arm under his shoulder, but looked at Robbie and Ray for help.  
"I'm not helping. I'm heading home" Ray said getting up and walking away without even saying sorry or good-bye to anyone.

Robbie jogged over to where Lily was standing beside Travis and looked at him.  
"Alright, Travis… if this hurts, I am so sorry. But Lily and I are just going to put our shoulders under your arms, and were going to take as much weight off of you, and we'll try not to make you walk much" Robbie said as he helped Travis stand up. He, as gently as possible, slid his shoulder under Travis's armpit. Lily quickly did the same, the best that she could.   
"Hopefully we can find someone that can drive us" Lily said looking at the ground as she walked. She suddenly looked up at Travis who seemed to let his head bob around as much as he could. His head seemed like it was attached to a marionette.

"Maybe I should call someone?" Robbie asked looking at Travis as he noticed Travis's eyes were closing periodically.

"Maybe" Lily said softly and stopped walking, "But who are we going to call?"  
Robbie ran through a mental list of people in his mind. He could call anyone's parents, but he really didn't want to, not yet. He could call Kim, but that might not be a good idea, since he was the only one that kind of got along with her. And phoning Ed and Ted would be useless, they didn't drive. Finally, he thought of someone to call.

"We could call Mickey" Robbie said as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket with his free hand.

"That would be a good idea. One of the waiters could look after the place" Lily said thoughtfully out loud as Robbie started to talk into his phone.

"Hi. Mickey? Yea… oh everything's fine. Travis just needs to get to a hospital really quick, if you can come get us… I'll tell you what happened when you get here" Robbie said just as he told Mickey where they were and hung up his phone.

It was only minutes before Mickey showed up in his old vintage car. They carefully put Travis in his car, with Lily riding in the back with him and Robbie sat in the front. Robbie slowly, explaining every detail of what he knew, explained the whole situation to Mickey. Mickey didn't ask many questions, he just nodded his head listening carefully to everything that Robbie said, making sure he drove with caution and obedience. Once they got to the hospital they all helped Travis inside as Robbie and Lily tried to fill out papers for him, as they except Travis right away, on account to him have now passing out.

Lily and Robbie sat patiently outside of Travis's room.

"I still can't believe Ray did this" Lily said softly looking at the ground.

"Me either. Travis and I both were coaxing him for so long to just tell you he liked you. He never did. And it's not that Travis should have asked to go out with you, he didn't need to. Ray wasn't acting on his feelings. Ray couldn't sit there and wait forever and ever, never letting you be with a guy because he liked you and was just too chicken to tell you." Robbie sighed as he scratched his head thoughtfully for a minute.

Lily thought and smiled a bit, "I know. I know what you mean. I don't think Ray had any right to be mad at all… but I think the fact that Travis did it is what really hurt him"

Robbie nodded, "I think so too." He looked up and noticed Mickey walking towards them with cups of water.

"I got these for you two. I phoned Travis's parents and they said they would be here soon. I also phoned your parents Lily, and I got Lily's parents to phone yours Robbie, so they know where you are" Mickey said as he handed them the cups of water

"Thank you so much Mickey" Lily said as she looked up at the ceiling of the hallway.

"For everything, really." Robbie smiled appreciatively at Mickey.

"No problem. I'm going to get back to work now. I hope Travis is okay, and if you need anything, just ask okay?" Mickey said as he turned around and started to walk down the hallway.

Lily and Robbie sat in silence for a while. Lily looked at the ground and focused on a little pebble as she noticed Robbie start to talk.

"Ya know… that nurse has been in there for a while. I wonder what's going on with Travis. If he's even woken up yet" Robbie said softly crossing his arms over his chest.

"I know. I mean, he's hurt pretty bad, but that nurse has been in there forever" Lily said softly as she started to play with her hair from being nervous.

Robbie was just about to open his mouth when he noticed Travis's room door open.

"Are you two Lily and Robbie?" the nurse said poking her head out of the room.  
"Yes" they both said at the same time.

"Well… he's awake now. But be calm with him okay? He was passed out before from shock, so be gentle when talking to him okay? Who knows what would have happened if he would have been any longer getting here." The nurse said looking at the two of them then added "Did you try to get in contact with his parents?"  
"Yes" Lily said nodding.  
"His mom said they would be here as soon as they could be" Robbie added looking at the nurse.

"Alright, well you two can come in okay? But be quiet" The nurse said opening the door for Robbie and Lily.

Robbie and Lily walked into Travis's room to see him lying on a bed, which was folded up. He had a temporary bandage wrapped around his head/jaw, allowing him to talk quietly and without moving his mouth a lot. His nose also had a bandage over the arch, protecting it for the mean time.

"Hi guys" Travis said softly, almost whispering.

"Travis, are you okay?" Lily asked immediately without really thinking.

"What does it look like?" he smirked and shook his head a bit.

"I just wanted to ask" Lily said smiling at Travis. She took his hand, hoping it wasn't sure and held it gently in hers.

"Dude, I'm sorry this had to happen" Robbie said looking at Travis with an apologetic look on his face.

"It's okay" Travis said trying to smile and sighed.

Lily and Robbie had been talking to Travis with Travis answering every so often, or just nodding his head, sighing or smirking just to get his point across.

Lily, Travis and Robbie had been sitting in the hospital room for about an hour when there was a knock on the door. The door slowly opened and a head popped in through the door. Lily turned her head quickly to face the door when she noticed who it was.

"Hey honey, how are you feeling?" the lady said walking into the room.

"Mom?" Travis said raising his eyebrow and shifting his jaw oddly as the lady went and stood just beside where Robbie was sitting near the bed.


	10. I Melt With You

Travis's mom stood beside Robbie looking at Travis with an awkward look on her face. She couldn't even begin to think of what to say to Travis.

"How'd this happen?" Travis's mom said looking at her with a nervous look in her eyes.

"Mrs. Strong. It's a long story," Lily started out as she looked at Mrs. Strong, "See, Travis and I, well you knew about Travis and I. And I guess, so did Ray. The thing with Ray is that he's liked me for a long time, but I didn't always have feeling towards him and he never made his move on me. So Travis did. I guess it got to Ray today because he purposely stayed after school, just waiting for us out around the back of school. And he barley said anything and next thing you knew, Ray was throwing punches at him… it was rough. And as strong and knowledgeable as Travis is, Ray still beat him up pretty bad."

Travis's mom looked at Lily for a minute before turning back to Travis, "I'm sorry that this happened Travis"

"It's okay" Travis managed to mumble out of his mouth before trying to cross his arms over his chest.

"I'm really sorry, but I have to go and pick your dad up from the airport. I will be back tonight though okay honey?" Mrs. Strong said as she softly kissed Travis's forehead, making sure not to harm him at all. She gave a smile to Robbie and a reassuring smile to Lily and left closing the door softly behind her.

"Where's your dad?" Robbie asked looking at Travis as he sat back down in the chair he had been sitting in.

"England" Travis said softly looking at Lily to give the rest of the explanation.

"He's there getting some of the stuff that the Strong's had to leave behind when they moved." Lily said smiling and taking Travis's hand softly in hers. She looked to Robbie who was nodding.

It was a few weeks later. School had been let out and even though Travis hadn't been able to get to school, because he was mostly at home, resting and healing, Robbie and Lily looked after cleaning out his locker and getting his homework back and forth to him. Robbie and Lily were doing the show by themselves most of them time, except for the occasional time Travis would phone in to wish them well and say he was having fun on 'vacation'. They had heard nothing from Ray for the longest time. On the show the explanation as to why Pronto wasn't there was because 'he had too much homework and too many exams coming up.' Lily and Robbie hadn't talked to Ray at school. He ignored them at lunch and in the classes he had with them. He didn't say anything when he passed them in the hall. And even though Ray's cheek had a nice bruise on it still, compared to the many Travis had, he didn't once ask how Travis was.

One night Lily was standing at Travis's door wondering if she knock or ring the doorbell. Travis was so sore, that he mostly stayed confined to his bed most of the time, or sat on a couch with the tv on, but not really paying attention to it. Whenever Lily came over, Mr. or Mrs. Strong had always taken care of it, and answered the door themselves, letting Travis stay where he was and he'd always send Lily to him. Travis's mom had explained to Lily before that she had taken off of work to take care of because when she was little her parents never took off of work to look after her when she was sick or anything, and that she never had for Travis up until that point, and felt horrible about it.

Lily reached out and rang the doorbell and stood at the door waiting for it to be answered.

Lily stood against the railing of the house just as the door opened. She smiled when Travis greeted her at the door.

"I didn't know your mom was letting you out of your bed, or off the couch or wherever to get the door and walk around your house!" Lily smiled as Travis backed away from the door to let her in.

"It just kind of happened a little ago. I tried to tell her if she didn't let me get up soon, that I would never walk again and my body's muscles would all form to there own shape, and they wouldn't heal properly" Travis said smiling a bit. He still had a brace on his jaw, but it was a different one that allowed him to talk more.

Lily nodded her head and laughed. Travis always found a way to explain things in ways no one else would, "You're right"

Lily and Travis walked over to the couch they both sat down and Lily swung a bag from around her back to in front of her.

"What's that?" Travis asked curiously peering down at the blue and white backpack that sat between Lily and him on the floor.

"Everything from your locker, and some stuff from people at school" Lily said smiling as she carefully opened the backpack, "Robbie and I cleaned out your locker today and yesterday people gave us these things. There basically cards"  
"Nice" Travis said as Lily handed him stuff from his locker. Some pictures he had scattered on his locker door, fell out of his schedule. He smiled and started to go through the rest of the bag. He found cards from everyone from Audrey to Principal Waller, from Mickey to Kim Carlisle. He found a letter from Robbie tucked into one of the side pockets reminding him of the torpedo game they had that Robbie thought he had cheated during. He reminded him about Lily's Think Pink campaign and how he impressed Waller during the time when he had a supply for one of his classes.

"There's so much stuff… some of these people I don't even know" Travis said leafing through more stuff, cautiously putting everything in a neat pile, until he came across a slightly larger envelope then everyone else's, in Lily's script. He looked up at Lily and smiled then proceeded to open the envelope.


	11. Is it me, is it you?

"Lily, I talk to you all the time, you didn't have to write me anything" Travis said as he opened the letter and something fell into his lap. It was a smaller picture of Lily and himself one time at RFR before anyone had gotten there, with his picture phone. It had a small wire frame around it, that was made with what he assumed was a broken guitar string. It also had two guitar picks on it. One was blue and on the top left corner and one was yellow and on the bottom right corner. There was also a little hook on the back so Travis could hang it up on his wall.   
"I wanted to Travis, besides, read the letter." Lily said smiling at him.   
Travis looked down at the letter and started to read it:  
 **_Dear, Travis:_**

**_I know you're probably sitting right beside me as you read this, but I just wanted to tell you thank you. Thank you for being there for me always and, thank you for believing in me, believing in us. I'll always be right there for you, near or far, no matter where you are.  
Love always,   
Lily._**

Travis smiled up at Lily with a bright smile and hugged her, "Thank you Lily, no one's ever said anything like that to me before"  
Lily blushed and looked away from Travis for a second "Travis, I really meant it all. I'm just scared that none of us have talked to Ray for a month. I mean, at one point, Ray, Robbie and I were best friends you know? And I didn't want it to happen that Ray stopped talking to Robbie and I. I wanted to have you as a boyfriend, and Ray as a friend still… but I lost Ray. I don't know what to do, things aren't the same for me. I still want to be with you Travis, so much. You mean a lot to me. I love you Travis. But I miss Ray, as a friend. Robbie, Ray and I had so many great times together. So many fun things that we did. Maybe it's just that I'm growing up and notice Ray not being around, or maybe it's because I feel that he acted irrationally and I can't handle it… I don't know what it is. But do you know what I mean?" Lily asked looking at Travis. She noticed that Travis's look had cleared his face and was replaced with a shaded look, a look Lily hadn't seen in a long time. His strong, intense look.

"I don't know if I do" Travis said looking back at Lily with a slight glance.

"I still want to be with you Travis, but I want to start talking to Ray again" Lily said almost whispering.

"He's not talking to any of us though" Travis said pointing out the obvious.

"I know he's not, but I wish he was" Lily whispered resting her head on Travis's shoulder.

Travis slowly moved his hand over Lily's hair "I have an idea. Let's not break up, but let's just take a break. I mean, we shouldn't talk for a few weeks. You know, you can talk to Ray again, and I'll hang out with Robbie a bit. Maybe that's all we need" Travis said gripping Lily's hand. Lily stood up and let go of Travis's hand.

"What are you doing?" Travis asked looking at Lily.

"Starting this right now. Call me in a few weeks, or whenever you feel like it." Lily said as she walked to the door. She slid her shoes back on and started to walk out the door.   
Travis followed Lily to the door and stood in the doorway "Lily, come back. Please?!" Travis said at the door as he slid against the wall to the step and sat there and watched the back of Lily's hair swing as she walked quickly away from Travis's house.


	12. Where's the good?

Lily sat on the front step, leading to her house. She didn't know what to think. She couldn't believe she had just walked out on Travis like that. That made her madder then anything. Her thoughts twisted to Ray, what he was feeling and what he must be feeling like. She got up and started to walk to his house. Robbie, Travis or Lily hadn't talked to Ray since it happened and Lily sort of missed him. When she got to his house she knocked on the door, hoping someone would answer it, but at the same time hoping no one would answer it. She stood there for a few minutes in silence as she heard footsteps come to the door, and it opened, standing in front of her was Ray. Ray and Lily looked at each other for a minute before Ray decided he should talk.

"What do you want Lily?" Ray asked coldly, not even noticing the unpleasant look that had settled upon Lily's face.

"Ray…" Lily said quietly looking at Ray. Her face had turned red, and her eyes had started to itch. She shifted her view towards the ground suddenly as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Lily? Are you crying?" Ray asked stepping out of the door frame and onto the step where Lily was standing. He looked at Lily more closely and noticed as her eyes welled up with tears. Without any question he pulled Lily inside his house and brought her over to the couch.

"Lily, what's wrong?" Ray asked again this time looking at her with a quizzical look.

"I… broke up with Travis." Lily said looking at Ray through her hair. As she said the words, she couldn't believe what she had done.

"What? Why?" Ray asked confused as he hugged Lily.

"I was mad that I hadn't talked to you in so long. I was mad that none of us were friends anymore; I didn't know what to do. I just want everyone to be friends again" Lily said softly as she wiped at her eyes momentarily.

"Lil, you shouldn't have broken up with Travis because of that." Ray said looking at Lily with big eyes.

"What do you mean?" Lily said through broken sobs.

"This is between Travis and me. You didn't have to break up with him because of that" Ray shrugged.

"But yet, you won't talk to me?" Lily quipped and got up from where she was standing and walked to Ray's door.


End file.
